BILLED as one of the most anticipated British films for a long time, the ''non-sequel'' to Four Weddings And A Funeral provoked a feeding frenzy among the paparazzi during filming in London. Film makers had to round up the stars, who include Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, to pose for the snappers in order to avert an out and out punch-up.
Meanwhile Scottish writer/director Bill Forsyth has finally got round to making a follow-up to his 1980 hit Gregory's Girl. The makers of Gregory's 2 Girls - claim it is not a sequel, although it stars John Gordon-Sinclair and is based on a school setting again.
Gordon-Sinclair's character Gregory has swopped his football shorts for a tweed jacket because he's a teacher. Oh and he's looking for romance again. In Glasgow. To spice things up there's a bit of local political intrigue with the film billed as part romantic comedy, part thriller. Should be an interesting yet vaguely familiar project.
DIRECTOR Ken Loach filmed Carla's Song in Glasgow, starring Robert Carlyle. His latest offering, My Name Is Joe, is also set in Glasgow, and is appearing at the Cannes Film Festival which started this week.
It is the story of a drunk trying to get back on his feet, but, says Loach: ''He's a very rounded guy. He does have a booze problem but there is a lot more to him than meets the eye.'' He's also passionate about football. The film was written by Paul Laverty, a Glaswegian, who worked on Carla's Song. Loach does say the film could have been made in any big city in the UK, if not Europe, because the characters are passionate about booze and football. Glasgow does seem perfect for some reason. The film includes a big screen acting debut from Ex-Deacon Blue singer Lorraine McIntosh.
OSCAR Wilde's play, An Ideal Husband, is being filmed not once, but twice this year. Bill Cartlidge's version stars James Wilby, Sadie Frost, Jonathan Firth, and Prunella Scales. In the summer, another version will begin filming. The cast, to be directed by Oliver Parker, unites Minnie Driver, Cate Blanchett, Rupert Everett, Gabriel Byrne, and Julianne Moore.
AT each other's throats are singer/actress Barbra Streisand and the man who got as close to playing God as, well God himself, Charlton Heston. Streisand has drawn unfriendly fire from staunch National Rifle Association (NRA) activist Heston because of her movie about a widow's campaign against handgun violence. TV movie, The Long Island Incident, tells the story of Carolyn McCarthy, who lobbied for gun control and became a congresswoman after her husband was killed and her son seriously wounded by a gunman who opened fire on a New York train in December 1993.
Six people were killed. Heston, a NRA vice president, has challenged Streisand to a public debate over the film's alleged deliberate misrepresentation of the group and its supporters. The NRA claims a request to preview the movie was denied. With menaces presumably.
Everyone knows Hollywood makes films about gangsters. But now Hong Kong's film industry is trying its hand. The release of Storm in Macau, about Wan ''Broken Tooth'' Kuok-kai, came as he was arrested for his alleged involvement in the bombing of the Macau's judiciary police director's car this month.
Henry Fong, executive producer of the movie and of Skylark International - which made the film - was attracted to Wan as a subject after hearing about his relationship with family members. As Fong says: ''He's a colourful and interesting character.'' The police think so too.
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